


Threads of Reality

by IcefireGrace



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien is the "nerdy" one, Alternate Reality, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Angst, Atlantis, Canon divergent before the last two episodes of season 3, F/M, Fantasy, Fluff, Heavy Lore, Identity Reveal, Identity Reveal to the whole world, Magic, Marinette is the Guardian, Marinette is the strategic one, Original Miraculous Origins and Lore, Origins of Miraculous, Physics, Romantic Soulmates, Science Fiction, There's a lot of sci-fi elements in this, Time Travel, major character deaths, mix of sci-fi and fantasy - mostly fantasy, the lost city of atlantis - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-18
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:36:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27575959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IcefireGrace/pseuds/IcefireGrace
Summary: Outside of time and space, in between realities, nothingness reigns supreme. A prison holds a malevolent being from an ancient civilization, hailing from a universe that no longer exists. His connection to destruction and therefore, Adrien, could break the seal of his prison, freeing him and unleashing doom. Ladybug and Chat Noir must fight to protect their very fabric of reality. Is their love strong enough to conquer even time and space?
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe
Comments: 14
Kudos: 9





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! This is my first ever Miraculous Ladybug fanfic. I will try posting once a week. Let me know if anything doesn't make sense regarding their characters or any future plot. Tell me what you thought, I would definitely appreciate the criticism :)

The Darkness was blinding. It consumed his eyes, his heart, his very being. How long had he waited and how long had he stewed in this great nothingness? Time was meaningless. Reality was meaningless. He was meaningless. Even so, there was something keeping him tied to reality. He could sense the cracks of destruction and what it would take to break the seal keeping him prisoner. He knew how to change his fate and the thread of destiny would soon be destroyed. All it took was patience. So, he waited and kept on waiting for that inevitable day when he would get everything he wanted, the single, searing thought of rage keeping him from slipping into a meaningless slumber. The final day when the very foundations would tremble in the wake of his vengeance.

***

Years, centuries, millennia, slowly pass as infant Universes are born just as old ones die. Such is the way of existence. Frailty and death are left as beauty and light are extinguished. How could he begin to comprehend time or existence when he is consumed with nothingness? How is he able to hold on to his reality? He clawed at the tendrils of consciousness remaining to reach the answer and is reminded once more that he is fueled by his ties to destruction. It was not the first time he was forced to ask himself this question and had to painfully regain the answer so he would not succumb to the nothingness. He was once powerful and now he is reduced to this state. Rage fuels his very being once again and he holds on. It will not be long now. He could feel it.

***

Reality was a funny thing. Everyone had their own version and the desire to change it, no matter how small, is always present. He was once again slipping away from his reality into the nothingness, bracing himself for clawing out once again. His taste for vengeance sweet on his tongue. It was this very thought combined with his rage and his willingness to fight that finally triggered the overwhelming flood of consciousness bleeding back into his being as if the very fabric of nothingness was cut into an open, gushing wound. His time had finally arrived. He could feel the very connection to the thread of destiny finally release into this particular Universe. All he had to do was push back on his connection to destruction, will the thread to be destroyed and the seal would be broken. He was so close to freedom; he could smell it. And so, he pushed and pushed and finally, the connection opened for him, like the petals of a flower, blooming in spring. All he had to do was plant the thought to destroy the thread. He felt victory in his bones as he finally opened his eyes.

***

Adrien woke with a start, the last thing he remembered was a pair of glowing red eyes boring into his very soul. As he rubbed his face and registered the darkness of his room, he tried to make sense of what had spooked him so much, but he was slowly being overcome by tiredness again. He laid back down on his pillow, barely making out Plagg’s tiny, snoring form next to him as he was slowly lulled once more into a restful sleep, all thoughts of the weird dream pushed out of his mind, knowing that it would be forgotten in the morning. However, he could not have known at this moment, that his fate was already sealed.


	2. Part 1: The Lost City: Chapter 1

It was the third time that day that Marinette cursed herself for not paying attention in class. She had to do well, damn it! They were a few months away from graduating high school forever and it wouldn’t do her good to flunk out now. She needed to get into a good university if she wanted to be a fashion designer worthy enough to work for Gabriel Agreste. The source of her distraction was staring straight ahead, his head resting in his palm, not knowing what the sunlight pouring into the classroom was doing to his hair. _It's like drops of sunbeam on a grey canvas,_ Marinette thought to herself, a dopy smile plastered on her face as she mirrored his action of settling her head in her hand.

Alya seemed to have caught her staring and elbowed her gently, snapping her out of her reverie. _What?_ Marinette gestured silently to her best friend. Alya gestured to the front in return, pointing at the board, silently chastising her for not paying attention. Marinette grinned at her but continued staring at Adrien, not missing the amused smile on Alya’s face as she rolled her eyes at her. She knew in her mind that she should have listened to Alya instead of daydreaming about Adrien since they were currently in physics class and among all her subjects, she couldn’t afford to _not_ pay attention during physics. She wasn’t terrible at the subject; she just wasn’t as good at it as it never piqued her interest.

She knew it was Adrien’s favourite class though, and she knew how he always tried to hide his intelligence, but he was definitely the smartest in their class. One might argue that Max would give him a run for his money – and Adrien had that in spades – but Max’s specialty was in computer science. If people really paid attention, they would realize that Max and Adrien were actually quite close as Adrien could bond with him over science or their shared ambitions, even though Nino was Adrien’s best friend. She remembered with a tinge of sadness why Adrien always hid his “nerdiness”. His father expected him to take over the company someday and he always had to carry himself in a particular way that reflected the poise and sophistication of the Agreste fashion line as well as their untainted family name. This didn’t leave Adrien with any room to explore his passions or go for something other than his father’s wishes.

Marinette sighed sadly, thinking about her precious sunshine boy in front of her as the class finally ended. Adrien turned around in his seat and waved at them both, informing them that he was going to find Nino who didn’t take the same class as them and assured them that he would talk to them more later. Alya nodded at him and Marinette smiled as he left the class.

Alya got up just as Marinette was done putting away her things and stared at her with an exasperated expression. However, Marinette could see a hint of a smile on her face which she was trying to conceal.

“Yes, yes I should pay attention in class instead of daydreaming,” Marinette said before Alya could berate her for not taking any notes.

“Girl, I know you’ve been thinking about kissing your boy this entire class – “

“– amongst other things,” Marinette cut her off, smirking. It earned her a soft whack on her arm by Alya as she giggled.

“You’ve still gotta graduate,” Alya continued, still smiling.

“I know Alya. Come on, you know me. I would never jeopardize my future like that. I agree sometimes I just lose myself, but I can’t help that I’m totally in love with that clueless boy. Besides this is the final class today and I was planning on going home and making it up by studying anyway,” Marinette assured her. Alya smiled at her sadly as they made their way out of the classroom.

Marinette recently confessed to Alya that her crush on Adrien didn’t seem like just a crush anymore. She realised she was totally in love with him. Alya was shocked at this confession at first but then vowed she would redouble her efforts in trying to help get them together but Marinette refused, telling her she didn’t want to resort to contrived plans or tricks to get Adrien to fall in love with her anymore. She was just going to be herself and hopefully he sees her as more than a friend someday. Alya was taken aback by this but respected her wishes.

“I don’t know how you can stand it, Marinette. If Nino didn’t love me, I don’t know what I would do,” Alya had admitted. Marinette had just smiled at her softly. Her tough, sassy, no-nonsense friend was actually quite vulnerable when it came to matters of the heart, especially if it involved Nino, though she would hardly admit it.

Ever since Nino and Alya started dating a couple years ago, the four of them hung out a lot and she got her wish of getting to know Adrien much better. She learned so much about him, his unhappiness about his father’s overprotectiveness and his unwillingness to hurt him as well as his desire to please him and be the perfect son. She knew how overwhelmed he was even without him saying it.

She also realised he could be really dorky and passionate if he decided to let loose and not hold himself back. When they hung out with Alya and Nino, he was always relaxed and joked around with Nino, saying cringe-worthy puns that usually earned him a groan or two. He _loved_ superheroes with a passion, and she remembered with a small amount of smugness that his favourite hero is Ladybug. She had asked him why he admired her so much and without having to think about it, he had said; “Because she cares.” Like it was the most obvious thing in the world, and everyone should love her because of that. Just when she thought she couldn’t love him anymore, he outdoes himself. He didn’t admire her for her power or coolness but instead a trait that Marinette herself strived to practice: kindness.

She also noticed how he talked about graduate level physics and chemistry topics with Max and could get really passionate, especially when they talked about String Theory and the possibility of alternate universes. Once when they were sitting together for lunch, she overheard them excitedly discussing how scientists had managed to detect the presence of gravitational waves and how it was an unprecedented scientific discovery. Nino had rolled his eyes and smirked at them affectionately as he had his arm around a smiling Alya but Marinette couldn’t help but admire Adrien’s passion. However, unless it was Nino or Max, he always held himself back when talking to anyone else. _Including me,_ Marinette thought sadly.

Adrien also loved anime and games and they always played Ultimate Mecha Strike V whenever they could. This was usually when he let his guard down with her and let loose his competitiveness. It was extremely hilarious and cute. Apart from Alya and Chat, Adrien had slowly become her best friend. She had since lost her stutter when she talked to him, understanding that he had flaws just as she did. She took down most of her magazine cut-outs of him from her wall, instead replacing it with actual pictures they took of each other and their friends when they spent their time together. He was more beautiful in those than he could ever look in the magazines – and he was already drop-dead gorgeous. He had turned 18 recently and definitely grew up, as his looks were more mature. The professional magazines could never capture how the sunlight reflected on his shy but slightly mischievous grin. How his green eyes sparkled with mirth but also hid a deep well of secrets.

Despite all this, Marinette still couldn’t seem to confess her feelings for him. She didn’t want to ruin the closeness and friendship they had built over the years, but she also understood that he wasn’t ready for a proper relationship. He had dated Kagami for a while but that didn’t last long. They had remained close friends, but she knew he was unwilling to let loose and as long as he was controlled by his father and doing everything he could to please him, he would never be able to embrace what he truly wanted and accept himself for the wonderful person that he is. He had a slight self-deprecative streak in him. It was subtle but Marinette could tell that he sometimes thought he wasn’t good enough. So, she decided from then on that she would wait for him. No matter how long it took for him to finally break free and love himself, she would always wait for him. For now, she was content in giving him whatever love he would accept from her, even if it were just as a best friend. She would wait for the day when he would feel her deep love for him and hopefully return it back. Even if he didn’t, she would continue waiting for him till the day she takes her final breath because she knew in her very soul that she could love no one as much as she loved Adrien Agreste.

***

The day started out normal enough, with Marinette rushing to the front doors of her school before the bell rang. She was late as usual. She overslept because of the particularly nasty akuma she and Chat Noir had to fight in the unholy hours of the morning. _Did Hawkmoth even sleep?_ She wondered to herself. Was lateness a common trait that all superheroes in existence shared? The Flash was late all the time despite having super speed, although that was admittedly a way to conceal his secret identity. Spider-Man was late to almost everything which caused serious problems in his life. And here she was, Ladybug, late for school. Again. She wondered idly if Chat Noir had the same problem she had, as she approached Alya and Nino who were waiting for her as usual. She greeted them, out of breath, and almost asked where Adrien was, but the words were barely out of her mouth before he appeared beside her, equally out of breath.

“Sorry guys, overslept. Thanks for waiting for me,” Adrien explained. Marinette giggled as she realised that Adrien was almost always late as well. Adrien shot her a grin.

“I swear, it’s like you two plan your schedule so you could be late at the exact same time,” Alya told them both, her hands on her hips. Adrien just rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly as they made their way into the doors. They were barely inside before something came crashing into the side of their school, encasing a good chunk of the empty classrooms in some thick brownish liquid that quickly hardened upon contact. Marinette sighed. Wonderful. Another akuma. She barely registered Adrien’s soft muttering beside her, grumbling that he was so done with this. Marinette silently agreed with him. Alya on the other hand was basically jolting with excitement, her phone out filming the akuma while Nino tried to pull her away from the chaos.

“Well I guess school is cancelled today. I better get home. My father wouldn’t like that I’m out in the open during an akuma attack,” Adrien said as he chuckled weakly, ducking around the front doors and making his way towards his bodyguard. Marinette was too busy trying to find a secluded area to transform to notice that Adrien had disappeared behind a column at the last minute as green light engulfed his body. Marinette finally jumped behind some bushes and called to Tikki from within her purse to transform her.

She jumped out as Ladybug and raced to the front of the school to confront the akuma but it wasn’t there. Instead she saw Chat Noir and he seemed surprised to see her there so fast. She was just as surprised. How did he get here so quick? _Unless he also went to this school._ The thought came unbidden in her mind. No, she couldn’t have such thoughts. Their identities _must_ be kept secret. She didn’t realise she was staring at Chat longer than needed and he waggled his eyebrows at her, a mischievous smirk plastered on his face.

“Like what you see, my lady?” He asked her. She raised her eyebrow at him, unamused.

“Wouldn’t you like to know, kitty cat.”

“I would actually,” He told her, still smiling.

“How’d you get here so fast?” She blurted out without thinking. That removed the smirk from his face.

“We have an akuma to catch my lovely lady,” He pointedly replied, not answering her question.

“Oh right. Of course,” She said, remembering what they were here for in the first place. She mentally scolded herself for asking him such an invasive question that could reveal his identity.

At first, Chat was the one who always hoped they could reveal their identities to each other, but Ladybug never relented. He always respected her wishes, but she wanted to give him a proper explanation anyway. She told him that if they knew who the other was, it would be too dangerous especially if there was a particularly horrible akuma that could mind control or something. If one of them were captured and their thoughts revealed against their will, it would be disastrous. Better only one of them was exposed rather than both. After hearing this, he was as adamant as her to keep their identities from each other as well. She knew if anything were to happen to her, Chat could actually destroy akumas too, according to what Bunnyx had told her after the whole Chat Blanc incident. What she didn’t understand was why everyone emphasised her as the only one who could purify the akumas, which wasn’t solely true. She guessed it was because killing those butterflies with cataclysm would be severely unethical. They were victims too. But if worst came to worst and they had no other choice, then cataclysm would be the only way. She never told this to Chat though, rationalizing that they didn’t have to think about this unless it was absolutely necessary.

“Hmm. That golden-brown liquid is amber, which is interesting,” Chat began, snapping Ladybug out of her thoughts. “It would be great to study if it could preserve…” he added softly to himself but didn’t continue his sentence. Ladybug looked at him thoughtfully. It was times like these, between akuma battles that he would somewhat reveal snippets of what he was like in his civilian life that for some reason really interested her. He always acted like an alley cat, flirting, and making jokes at inopportune moments but she knew he was definitely well read. His surprise scientific knowledge sometimes came in handy when defeating certain akumas.

Chat turned back to her and caught her staring again. He grinned at her and she smirked right back at him.

“How much you wanna bet our purrrrr-petrator is a palaeontologist working at a museum?” Chat asked. Ladybug chuckled and pretended to think about it.

“Good guess kitty but I’d say he’s a Professor who got denied tenure.”

“Loser does patrol tonight.”

“Oh, you’re on.” Ladybug replied as they both shot off in pursuit of the akuma.

What they couldn’t have known was that neither of them was going to be doing a simple thing such as patrol anytime soon.

***

Ladybug was analysing the akuma’s weaknesses and trying to figure out how to use her lucky charm, which was a long rope, as Chat Noir distracted him, hitting him at times with his baton. The akuma said his name was “The Preserver” ( _it was such a lame name. Did Hawkmoth run out of creativity?)_ and he was indeed a Professor of Palaeontology who was denied tenure. _Guess Chat will be the one patrolling tonight._ Ladybug thought to herself, smiling slightly. She decided they should free the hostages first to get them away from the danger of battle. The Preserver had encased them in amber around the beams of the Eiffel tower. Luckily, the hostages were still able to breathe as their heads were spared from the hardened resin.

Chat would be able to cut the beams with his claws and get the hostages to safety and Ladybug could hold the tower with her yoyo while Chat broke the akumatized item which they determined to be a fountain pen the akuma had on the lapel of his white suit. She would be able to easily purify the akuma and they could all go home.

Chat came up next to her, hiding from the akuma who was shouting after them to hand over their Miraculous. Chat just rolled his eyes at this.

“So, what’s the plan my lady? Figure out how to use your Lucky Charm?”

“Yes, but I need your help, _Chaton_ ,” Ladybug said and relayed her plan to him.

“On it,” Chat simply said as he leaped over the akuma and cut the beams holding the hostages, catching their amber covered bodies safely in his arms and laying them towards the side. The Miraculous Ladybug cure would put everything back to normal and free them from the amber anyway. Ladybug immediately used her yoyo to hold the beams together to prevent them from falling and hurting people.

Ladybug saw the akuma make to attack Chat who was pretty exposed, so she swung the rope over her head like a lasso and caught The Preserver with it. The rope wound securely and tightly around his body. She pulled him towards her and punched him square in the face. When she was sure he was dazed and immobile, she gestured to Chat to take over as she tightened the yoyo strings around the Eiffel tower and held them in place. She saw Chat grab the pen and almost break it to free the butterfly but that’s when everything went wrong.

The akuma shot one final round of amber out of his hand, aiming straight for the base of the Eiffel tower just as Chat broke the pen. The butterfly was free and flying above them. Unfortunately, the entire tower buckled and fell over, the yoyo doing nothing to prevent the heavy beams from falling anymore. All Ladybug could hear were civilians screaming as one of the beams fell on top of her, pinning her legs and her arm that was gripping the yoyo. Ladybug screamed in agony as she felt her bones crush. The tears were streaming non-stop down her face as she almost blacked out from the pain. She barely registered that Chat was by her side, frantically shouting something and attempting to lift the beam. The only thing this did was cause her more agony and she started seeing spots.

“My lady, my lady, please hold on. I’ll get us out of this,” Chat desperately told her. She could see the tears running down his face and how much despair and fear were reflected in his green eyes.

“The butterfly…” Ladybug forced out, through the pain. He immediately understood what she was trying to say and looked up. She saw the butterfly flying around but with her yoyo and arm pinned under her, she couldn’t do anything. Everything was falling to pieces all around her. Her earring began to beep, signalling she only had four minutes to get to safety before her identity was revealed to the whole world. It didn’t help that there were civilians and reporters all around her, some were trying to help with the beams, some were screaming in fear while some were recording behind a police line that had been set up. She faintly recognized Alya behind the line, frantically trying to see what was happening to record on the Ladyblog.

She looked around for Chat and realised she had no choice, Chat had to cataclysm the butterfly before the situation became worse. She was about to croak out to him to destroy it when she caught sight of a glazed look on his tear-stained face. Before she could register what was happening, Chat leaped over her and yelled for Cataclysm, disintegrating the butterfly into pieces. It happened so fast that it gave her whiplash. _More injuries to add to the count._ Ladybug thought bitterly. She was surprised that Chat would think to destroy the butterfly. Maybe he thought there would be nothing to lose and just decided that it was the only thing to do at the moment. Even so, she didn’t forget the glazed look he had on his face before destroying the akuma.

Chat shook his head and knelt beside her, a worried look in his eyes before handing her the rope that was the lucky charm. She immediately called out Miraculous Ladybug before she could pass out from the pain. The magical ladybugs raced through the entire city, cleansing all the destruction and pain, and finally engulfing her in light. The agony immediately disappeared, and she could finally breathe again. Full of relief, Chat quickly pulled Ladybug into a bone-crushing hug. This coming from someone who literally had their bones crushed not a few seconds ago. She smiled at his affection for her and patted him on the shoulder, assuring him she was alright. Finally, Chat released her and held her at arm’s length, eyes raking over her thoroughly to check for injuries. She grinned at him and flicked his bell. She knew how scared he was and wanted to relieve his fear. She would feel the same if their situations were reversed and she knew he would’ve assured her by joking around as well. He let out a heavy breath as if he were holding it this entire time.

“I’m alright, kitty. How did you know using Cataclysm would work on the butterfly?” Ladybug asked. Chat thought about it for a moment.

“I’m…not sure. The thought just came to me and I destroyed the butterfly. I didn’t even think it would work,” He replied. Ladybug frowned at him and was about to ask him another question when suddenly the Earth rumbled beneath them, she was fairly sure it could be felt all over Paris, if not around the entire world. She grabbed Chat’s arm for support.

“Oh, great what now? Please don’t tell me it’s another akuma,” Chat said, exasperation clear in his tone. Ladybug didn’t reply as she looked around them. The earthquake didn’t seem to come from an akuma and it wasn’t strong enough to topple buildings. For some reason her gut was telling her that it was more like the beginning of something big, but she didn’t know where the feeling came from.

Before she could convey her feelings to Chat, she saw everything around them turn dark. She heard the gasps of civilians all around them as most of them were pointing their phones and cameras towards the sky. She turned to Chat who was shielding his eyes and looking up as well. She turned to where he was looking and her breath caught in her throat. It was a full solar eclipse, covering Paris in darkness. She faintly heard someone shout that it wasn’t just happening in France but everywhere that still had light. The countries that were currently experiencing night-time had a full lunar eclipse.

“That’s impossible. No way. How is this possible?!” Chat exclaimed, his arm around her waist, holding her closer.

“Isn’t the next solar eclipse in France years from now?” Ladybug asked, still not believing her eyes.

“Yes, but that’s not the only thing that’s impossible. There is no way the entire world could be experiencing a full solar _and_ lunar eclipse _at the same time_. It is scientifically and logically impossible. There is _no way_ this could happen in three-dimensional space. The moon and sun can’t be in two places at once. The only way is, someone’s been messing with time and there are several timelines merging with each other. Or someone’s changing the laws of physics or…or…. there isn’t an akuma with that much power is there?” He suddenly asked her after his rant, clearly afraid of what was happening. Ladybug could only return his fearful gaze.

Suddenly, just as the eclipse had started, not even two minutes later, it ended, bathing the city with bright sunlight once again and she could almost feel the sigh of relief on everyone’s minds. It was like the city could finally breathe easy, as if it narrowly escaped the jaws of death itself. Obviously, she should have known that there was no such thing as relief because at that moment, a bloodcurdling scream was released, and it took her a moment to realise that it came from her partner beside her. He immediately fell to the ground, clutching his head in agony. Now it was her turn to feel afraid as she frantically tried to make her way to him. Before she could hold him to figure out what was going on or even soothe him, his entire body was engulfed in the same destructive energy that was drawn from his cataclysm. She gasped and sobbed as she screamed Chat’s name in despair. It didn’t seem like the energy was harming him on the outside but based on his screams it looked as if it was splitting his very soul in two. He continued writhing on the ground in agony as she continued sobbing his name, unable to even touch him. He was already burning a small crater in the ground.

She fell to her knees and tried to crawl to him through her tears, still screaming his name even though she was pretty much hoarse at this point, as she faintly registered someone’s arms trying to support her. She knew it was Alya but she couldn’t muster the energy to look at her. Other civilians were surrounding them, and she resisted the urge to curse them into oblivion. Why couldn’t they help? A small, rational part of her brain knew they meant no harm and wouldn’t even know what to do in the first place, but all she could think about right now was her screaming partner.

Before she could process what was happening next, the destructive energy seemed to be seeping out of Chat as if it were being absorbed by some unseen outside force and his screams slowly subsided. This did nothing to assuage her though and all she wanted to do was whisk Chat away to a secluded area. She pushed out of Alya’s arms as she unconsciously registered her earring’s beeps. She only had two minutes left. Chat had stopped screaming and the destructive energy surrounding him had completely dissipated as Ladybug crawled slowly towards him to support his unconscious form. She was aware that Nadja Chamack and TVi news was there filming what was happening, live. She had to get Chat away from these people and figure out what was wrong with him.

She readied her yoyo and made to swing away when without warning, Chat’s transformation dropped away, revealing his identity, live, to the entire world. Her brain couldn’t even comprehend what was happening at the moment. The only thing she could register was the tiny unconscious form of Plagg lying beside Chat. She heard the collective gasp of the people around her and Alya swearing beside her before she even dared to look at Chat. Her eyes travelled from his familiar mop of golden hair to his closed eyes, to his lips. His peaceful face looked as if he had naught a care in the world. When she realised she was looking at the handsome face of Adrien Agreste, the boy she had been in love with this entire time, her brain completely short – circuited. She had too many overwhelming emotions flood through her brain at the same time; joy, anger, disbelief, fear, and she knew everyone else was probably as shocked as she was as they were silently waiting for her to comment. She was so flabbergasted, the only thing she managed to force out was:

“What the actual fu – “


	3. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry this was a little delayed. Nothing much happens in this chapter except characters dealing with feelings and the fallout of what happened. It also sets up a few things. As usual, let me know if there's anything to improve and I hope you like it :)

The sky was an inky black, illuminated only by the moon. The air was crisp but Marinette didn’t feel the cold as she perched on a rooftop as Ladybug, close by the Agreste mansion, keeping watch silently. The entire house was on complete lockdown, the defence systems were activated and Adrien’s entire wing which consisted of his room was completely barred with what seemed like bulletproof metal panes. Looking at the place, you wouldn’t have guessed that Gabriel Agreste was a fashion designer. You would’ve thought he was royalty or the President of the United States who was threatened with assassination or something. Where did he even _get_ a defence system like this? There was no way anyone was going in or out of that prison – unless you were a superhero – which Adrien was, but he hadn’t made any attempts to break out in the week since his identity was revealed. He was also pulled out of school and Ladybug desperately needed to talk to him. She had tried so many times to break him out, but it was all fruitless, alarms blaring and built-in firepower blasting at her until she retreated away. She knew it wouldn’t be able to hurt her since her suit was pretty much superman – level bulletproof, which was why she tried more than once, but it almost always drew so much attention, that the police, reporters with helicopters and random civilians alike would show up and her break-in attempts would be broadcasted and talked about on the news for hours. She would never be able to have a proper conversation with Adrien like that, so she resigned herself to keeping watch over the mansion from a distance.

The first couple days were absolutely chaotic, people were camped out in droves in front of the mansion even when there was no getting in or out. She tried her best to keep reporters or civilians at bay from trying to break in and getting blasted to smithereens. This somewhat backfired on her as their attention was turned on her instead, demanding when she was going to reveal her identity and what had happened on the day of the eclipses. It was a completely baffling phenomenon. Scientists all around the globe couldn’t come up with a proper explanation on what had happened. They had decided that it was somewhat linked to Ladybug and Chat Noir as well as their Miraculous and made it clear that they were waiting for an explanation from them. When this was relayed to Ladybug by reporters, she only scowled at them, making it clear she was annoyed and wasn’t going to answer their questions. She couldn’t give a rat’s ass if they thought her rude. Her goody-two shoes image was ruined anyway, what with her horrible attempts at breaking Adrien out, and of course when she swore on live television, in front of children no less. At any other time, she would have possibly been dragged for this on gossip sites or other attention seeking blogs and media which would have blown it up way out of proportion, but at the moment, it was safe to say that the _entire world_ was a whole lot more interested in the double life of Paris’ very own supermodel, teen heartthrob and resident superhero; Adrien Agreste.

If Adrien didn’t have people swooning over him before, they were definitely doing so now.

Of course there were some who criticized him, saying that he was a child incapable of defending the city when he had proven time and time again how he always put the people first, even being self-sacrificial enough to give his life a couple of times to save others as well as his Lady. Ladybug hated this about him with every fibre of her being, even though it was all reversed in the end. Her heart tore into pieces every time she had to witness him die. When she found out he was Adrien, her protectiveness and fear for him increased exponentially even though she tried her best to temper it, rationalizing that he was perfectly capable of defending himself and making his own choices. It was just extremely hard.

She couldn’t say she took it too well when Adrien was revealed, but she pushed her own emotions and questions aside so she could whisk his unconscious form away to safety. It was difficult since reporters and civilians were running after them but luckily, she was faster, and she managed to find a secluded area on a rooftop of an abandoned building. It wasn’t too far off from their usual meeting spot on the Eiffel tower. She had brushed Adrien’s golden hair away from his forehead and checked his breathing, wanting desperately to bring him to the hospital, but everything that had happened made her have second thoughts. She didn’t want to bring more unwanted attention to Adrien. She had been further contemplating this when her thoughts were interrupted by a soft groaning in Adrien’s jacket pocket where she had gently secured Plagg’s tiny, unconscious form. She was glad he was finally waking up because she hadn’t a clue on what to do. She was starting to feel like the most useless Guardian in history and it hadn’t been the first time she wished Master Fu was there to help her.

Her transformation had released as well, revealing Tikki who was shocked at the entire situation and worried about Plagg, but he seemed fine. They had exchanged a look when Marinette asked them if they had any idea what had happened, but they told her they weren’t entirely sure and wouldn’t want to give her the wrong information. She didn’t really feel like prodding them, all she cared about at the moment was Adrien. Maybe she _should_ have digged for answers at the time when they were all vulnerable and prone to open up. Tikki had remained tight-lipped since then, always telling her she wasn’t sure what had happened every time Marinette brought up the subject. She decided Tikki had a good reason for not saying anything for now and she trusted her, but she made it clear to her kwami that she was expecting answers soon.

As it turns out, Adrien was fine even though he was unconscious. Tikki examined him and determined that he was just extremely drained. Plagg had assured Marinette and Tikki that there didn’t seem to be anything wrong with his powers as well except at the moment when Adrien’s entire body was covered in destructive energy. He couldn’t explain what had happened but admitted that he felt similarly drained which was why he fell unconscious. It was like someone was using his powers as a conductor. He assured them that he just needed some camembert, and he would be all good. Tikki had rolled her eyes at him. They deduced that Plagg had taken the brunt of whatever had happened which was why Adrien was still alive in the first place, but since Adrien was basically his “conduit” in a way, it had severely affected him too. Tikki and Plagg concluded that whatever had drained them needed Adrien and Plagg to be bonded – therefore, Chat Noir – in order to access their energy. Plagg decided that Chat Noir should lay low for a while until they could figure out what happened and sort out the mess that the revelation of his identity caused them to be in. Marinette was mostly silent as the two kwamis were discussing things, watching as Plagg protectively settled on Adrien’s head, soothing his sleeping form with purrs and nuzzles.

She had decided to take Adrien home when it was dark. After feeding the kwamis, especially Plagg who was still very tired, she transformed and took off, with Plagg settling in Adrien’s jacket, nuzzling his chest soothingly. If Plagg hadn’t been there to look after Adrien, Marinette was prepared to reveal her identity to her parents so she could keep him safe in their house to look after him. Fortunately, she didn’t have to do that. When she had arrived at the Agreste mansion, there was chaos everywhere. The house was already on partial lockdown and there were people crowding all around the place. Maybe it would have been better if she had indeed taken Adrien to her own house. People spotted her carrying Adrien’s unconscious form and started shouting questions at her, but she of course ignored them and landed on the gate, wary about any defence systems. Gabriel Agreste immediately came out of the house, an unfathomable expression on his face, followed by Nathalie and the Gorilla. Ladybug reluctantly placed Adrien’s form in the Gorilla’s surprisingly gentle arms as he grunted at her and walked away with him. Ladybug barely managed to mumble out that Adrien was fine before Nathalie thanked her curtly and told her they would have their own doctors to determine if he was alright or not. Gabriel didn’t even acknowledge her as he made his way into the front doors. There was a click, and the full defence system was immediately activated. Ladybug just frowned.

After that, she had immediately made her way home, trying to process what had happened. Her parents had been extremely worried and angry at her late appearance, but she mumbled out an excuse that she was caught up with the akuma fight. They didn’t seem to buy it but let it go for now, seeing as Marinette looked extremely exhausted and out of it. She reached her room and plopped down unceremoniously on the bed, ignoring Tikki’s concerned expression as she allowed everything that had happened to overwhelm her mind. She had immediately begun to hyperventilate.

x

Ladybug sighed as she shifted across the rooftops closer to Adrien’s room. It was no use even hoping to catch a glimpse of him since all his windows were shielded. She knew he was doing fine though as Plagg usually snuck out while Adrien was sleeping to give her reports. She felt bad about it at first, getting information about him behind his back but how else was she supposed to know he was alright when she couldn’t even get close to him? Even so, Plagg never told her how Adrien was feeling or what he remembered, just that he was physically doing fine. Ladybug figured that Plagg didn’t want to betray Adrien’s trust by telling her something he wasn’t comfortable with sharing or something that he wanted to tell her himself. Chat Noir’s powers worked fine as they had discreetly tested it out one night when everyone was asleep, with Adrien managing to use cataclysm on a piece of paper which disintegrated as usual. They had no idea whatsoever what had caused his power to surge so badly during the day of the eclipses. Adrien hadn’t transformed into Chat Noir since the test.

Adrien was also more vulnerable in more ways than one, since petty criminals he had helped put away as well as freaking Hawkmoth would possibly be gunning for him now which was why Ladybug had diligently guarded the mansion into the wee hours of the morning for the past week. Although, it was somewhat strange that Hawkmoth hadn’t sent an akuma after Adrien at all the past week. In fact, he had been uncharacteristically silent. Marinette had sacrificed what precious little sleep she could’ve had worrying about when he would strike next. As a result, she was basically a zombie in class, not even bothering to make it look like she was paying attention or taking notes in class anymore. She was almost always reprimanded by her teachers, but she was too tired to care. Alya and Nino had noticed of course but they hadn’t said anything, instead just offering their support to her whenever they could. Alya assumed that Marinette’s state was because the boy she loved turned out to be someone else and she probably felt she had to sort out all her conflicting emotions – which was somewhat true – but Marinette didn’t talk about it with Alya and she never pushed.

Nino hadn’t taken it quite well apparently. He was hurt that his best friend in the whole world would keep something like this from him, as if he didn’t trust him. Nino was also frustrated that he was in the same boat as everyone else, not being able to even talk to Adrien since his father basically imprisoned him. Even though he complained, Marinette knew he was extremely worried for his friend and just wanted some news to see if he was okay.

“I don’t even know if he’s alive,” Nino had whispered quietly to Marinette one day. She was touched at how much he cared for Adrien. She made a point to look him right in the eye and tell him with confidence that Adrien was 100% alive and physically alright. Nino looked as if he didn’t believe her because how would she know this information? But she firmly told him to trust her. Maybe it was her unwavering belief or maybe he was simply scared of the bags under her eyes that made her look like a ghoul, but whatever it was, he relented and seemed to visibly brighten.

Alya had a mixed reaction to Adrien being Chat Noir. At first, she let out a string of curses directed at her friend, pissed off that he lied to them, but the next moment she was fangirling again, excited about talking to Adrien and interviewing him. Despite her enthusiasm, she respected Adrien’s privacy and made a point to post on the Ladyblog about it, so her followers knew to respect him and give him space as well. Marinette was grateful for this. One day without thinking, Alya had excitedly asked Marinette if it was possible Ladybug could be one of their classmates as well, causing Marinette to gulp down her water fast in avoidance, but Alya hadn’t really expected an answer and went on enthusiastically babbling about Ladybug’s identity. All Marinette got out of the exchange was water down the wrong side of her throat as she coughed violently.

The rest of their classmates had varying levels of reactions. Chloé was mostly silent and frowning in class, following the reveal. Marinette couldn’t reconcile this resigned version of Chloé with her usual obnoxious nature. Her curiosity got the better of her and she had asked Sabrina what was up with her, on the rare day when the two of them weren’t joined at the hip. Sabrina had just sighed and simply said that Chloé was just extremely worried for Adrien. Marinette remembered that Chloé was Adrien’s childhood friend and Adrien loved her like a sister. The feeling was definitely mutual. Apparently, Chloé had demanded that her father put a protective police detail around the Agreste mansion to make sure her Adrikins was safe, but Gabriel had adamantly refused, saying he didn’t want anyone near his house. The only reason Chloé hadn’t marched to the mansion and screamed at Gabriel herself was because she knew Ladybug was watching over him and if there was someone she loved just as much as Adrien, it was Ladybug.

Lila on the other hand, was being typical, horrible Lila. The lies that spewed out of her mouth and the lengths she would go to establish her importance astounded Marinette. She didn’t think Lila could’ve sunk to a new low.

“Oh, I am _so_ worried about Adrien. This is such a fragile time for him. I hope he’s alright,” Lila had said one day, crocodile tears primed and ready. Mylène, Ivan, Nathanial, Max, Alix and Kim surrounded her, listening to what she had to say as Marinette approached.

“Yeah, I think it’s a little much to imprison him like that. I hope we get to see him soon,” Max said sadly, and everyone nodded in agreement.

“I just feel so bad for rejecting him the last time. I wish I could tell him that even though I don’t return his feelings, I’ll always be his friend if he needs to talk,” Lila said, wiping her dry eyes. Everyone looked at her, confused. Marinette had just narrowed her eyes at her. She already knew where this was going.

Catching the confused look on everyone’s faces, Lila continued; “Oh! You must not have known. I just didn’t want to embarrass Adrien, the poor sweet soul. He told me he was in love with me.”

Everyone looked at Lila in surprise except for Marinette who was just plain livid.

“That’s a filthy lie and you know it Lila!” Marinette hissed at her. Lila looked at her with a convincing expression of hurt. The rest of their classmates stood around and stared at the two of them, except Max who looked closely at Lila, his hand cupping his chin.

“Why would you accuse me of such a thing, Marinette! Why would I lie? Adrien told me he loved me just a few days before the eclipses. When I said I didn’t return his feelings in that way, he said he would do anything to earn my love. Something monumental and…otherworldly,” Lila said, defending herself. Their classmates gasped and Marinette groaned at herself. She couldn’t believe she walked right into that.

“You don’t think… _Adrien_ caused the eclipses, do you? And the earthquake with his Cataclysm power? To win your love?” Mylène asked, shock and worry clear on her face. Lila gasped at the suggestion with fake horror. Everyone else had similar expressions.

“I didn’t think of it until you pointed it out Mylène! Oh, I am so stupid! This is all my fault! He must have caused the eclipses and earthquake to win me over! Now because of me everything went wrong, and he endangered all those people’s lives,” Lila said, looking completely distraught and on the verge of tears. The rest of their classmates were sympathetic and tried to comfort her. However, Max was frowning at her words.

Marinette would’ve been impressed at Lila’s amazing acting and manipulation skills if she wasn’t so angry at her attempt at besmirching Adrien’s name that the entire world had turned red. She would have clocked Lila right in her lying mouth there and then if Max hadn’t spoken up, breaking her out of her violently furious thoughts.

“I’m sorry Lila, it is somewhat too big of a stretch that Chat Noir could have caused the eclipses. It is just scientifically impossible to use the power of destruction to cause several eclipses at the same time throughout the whole world. No one, not even our superheroes have that type of power. I’m of the firm believer that magic is just science we don’t understand, so logically speaking, even the Miraculous has to follow certain scientific rules. And based on my observations, Chat Noir is simply not powerful enough to bend the rules of physics. As for the earthquake, there is no way Adrien could have gone messing with Earth’s tectonic plates mere moments before screaming in agony in front of everyone on the surface,” Max ranted. Lila just stared at him as all his classmates started nodding at his words. They couldn’t deny logic after all. “Oh, and it’s common knowledge by now that Chat Noir is absolutely smitten with Ladybug. Since we know Chat Noir is Adrien, him telling you that he loved you just a few days ago is highly unlikely as it is statistically improbable that someone gets over the love of their life in a matter of days. It’s more likely that you misunderstood his declaration of love for you for simple friendship, wouldn’t you agree?” Max added, looking pointedly at Lila.

Lila had just laughed uncomfortably as she nodded in agreement along with the rest of their classmates. They seemed to trust Max’s input because who could argue with science? Plus, Max was a genius and they probably accepted that he knew what he was talking about, so they had just dispersed slowly and told Lila she could have misunderstood things. Marinette grinned and threw Max a grateful expression. He had smiled back at her, happy to defend his friend. Lila saw this and starred daggers at Marinette who ignored her.

Of course, Lila couldn’t let it go and cornered Marinette near her lockers. She had pushed her against it and threatened to make Marinette’s life miserable in school. It was probably her lack of sleep that brought on her nonchalant attitude, but Marinette just rolled her eyes, not caring in the slightest what Lila planned to do. She fought supervillains on a daily basis, why would she be hurt or scared by an attention-seeking brat like her?

“Bring it on,” she had told Lila, not even bothering to look at her as she walked away, completely unfazed, leaving her fuming and gaping like a lost fish.

x

Ladybug noticed that the sky was getting somewhat lighter which meant that she only needed to watch the Agreste mansion for an hour or so before she could go back and try to get some sleep. She crossed her arms as she stared at the metal pane obscuring Adrien’s window and continued to sort out her thoughts about him. Saying that the whole reveal had taken her by surprise was an understatement. She had pushed down her feelings so she could deal with everything that was happening and didn’t want to bring it up. She had decided to deal with it when she could properly talk to Adrien about it. Unfortunately, she was forced to face her thoughts and true feelings much sooner than she liked.

She had been lounging around with Alya at lunch one day, both of them silent and immersed in their own thoughts about everything that had been happening in the past week. Suddenly, without warning, Alya had turned to her and caught her unawares with one of her pointed questions.

“Are you able to reconcile the guy you’re in love with as the same goofy guy who makes weird cat puns, saves Paris on a daily basis…and is completely and utterly smitten with another woman?” Alya had asked. Marinette was taken aback and didn’t know how to answer. She had not even wanted to entertain the meaning of this, because if she did, then Adrien had been just as in love with her as she had been with him and she didn’t know what to think about that. Right now, Marinette was forced to face her feelings, but she settled for opening and closing her mouth a couple times, still silent. Thankfully, sensing her distress, Alya hadn’t pushed her and instead patted her arm sympathetically. It hadn’t helped though as all her emotions and confusion had bubbled right to the surface of her sleep-deprived, erratic thoughts, so she couldn’t help but blurt out what had been in her head the past few days.

“I love him even more now.”

Alya had raised her eyebrows in surprise as Marinette covered her mouth. Alya wasn’t about to let it go and she regretted saying anything. She might as well have revealed herself to her. Why would anyone be more in love with a guy who was in love with someone else? Alya didn’t know it was _her_ that Adrien was in love with this entire time, so it was just confusing.

“I…I mean, I admire his loyalty,” Marinette had said, trying to backtrack. “He was so devoted to Ladybug even though she seemed to not return his affections? It never looked like he expected anything from her and respected her wishes. It makes sense why Adrien never even thought about looking at another girl…even m..me,” Marinette continued softly, not looking at Alya. She assumed it was because Marinette was hiding her hurt, but truthfully, she was actually hiding a tiny smile. She couldn’t help but feel incredibly wonderful that the boy she loved was not only her best friend in her civilian life but her partner and best friend in her superhero persona whom she _entrusted_ with her life on a daily basis. They became best friends twice. And this entire time Adrien had been so oblivious to Marinette because he had been in love with her in the first place, even though she had rejected him for…him. It was a mess. A very hilarious mess.

Marinette was also relieved that Adrien loved Ladybug for the traits that mattered and not just because she was Ladybug. She knew Chat Noir’s feelings for her were sincere and it wasn’t just an infatuation. He had always been attentive to her and respected her feelings and decisions, putting her first all the time. It was the same thing she had done for Adrien, without him even knowing it. If that wasn’t love, she didn’t know what was.

As for trying to reconcile his two personas, he just made more sense to her now, why he was more reserved at one moment and goofy the next. He trusted Ladybug a lot more than anyone else, except maybe Nino, because he literally puts his life in her hands most of the time, so obviously he was going to be more open with her. He also didn’t have to act all prim and proper and could let loose. If that was how Adrien let loose, well, she couldn’t have been more smitten. She hadn’t known much about Chat Noir’s life, but she definitely knew about him as a person more than anyone else. This meant she knew _Adrien_ more than everyone else in her entire life.

When she managed to get her thoughts and feelings in order, the first thing she wanted to do was reveal herself to Adrien and she was giddy with excitement, thinking about the day when she would see him again and witness his expression face to face. She couldn’t wait to tease him about it and see the love for her in his eyes. That was the day she attempted her first break-in to the Agreste mansion. It obviously did not go well.

Tikki had reprimanded and reminded her that Hawkmoth was still out there, and it would be so much more dangerous for Adrien now. She couldn’t reveal her identity to him, and he would be more vulnerable to akuma attacks. Ladybug’s job now was to protect Adrien and try to defend the city alone from Hawkmoth for the time being. There was also the whole eclipse phenomena and its ties to Chat Noir that they had to investigate. This wasn’t the time for distractions. Marinette’s heart broke at this but she knew Tikki was making sense and she had to put aside her selfish desires for the good of Paris, at least until Hawkmoth was defeated. There would be a time when she and Adrien could be with each other like a normal, boring couple, with normal, boring things to worry about but now was not the time. Now, she had her responsibilities.

***

It was still the early hours of the morning when Ladybug decided to get home. She sighed, hoping once again that Adrien was alright. She was glad there was no sign of Hawkmoth right now, or her already messed up sleep schedule would be even worse.

She leaped across the rooftops in the direction of her home but for some reason, she had an uneasy feeling like something was watching her. She turned her head slightly to the right and noticed a flash of red disappearing behind a large chimney on a rooftop. It was a several ways behind her. _Why now?_ She whined exasperatedly to herself, already done with whatever she had to fight before it even revealed itself. She slowed down, trying not to give away that she was on to whomever or whatever the red thing was. She changed directions from the general path of her destination and slowly led the figure to a nearby abandoned construction site. She slowed down a bit more to allow the figure to catch up and she could practically feel it closing in on her, like a lioness approaching its prey. Well whoever it was, they severely underestimated her if they thought she would ever be prey. Never in a million years.

She continued walking forward, seemingly strolling leisurely until she was _sure_ the thing was about to take her by surprise when she suddenly stopped. In the blink of an eye, she spun around and extended her foot so she could kick whoever it was in the face. She would’ve been proud of catching her opponent off guard with her spinning back kick if there was actually someone there. Unfortunately, all her foot connected with were some air particles. She stumbled a little and stood there in surprise. She had been so sure there was someone there, she could practically hear them breathing. This only meant one thing, her opponent was at least as smart as her and knew she suspected them. She narrowed her eyes and immediately crouched down in a defensive stance, on high alert. It was still dark so she couldn’t make out any silhouettes, but she was sure that she would be easily able to spot another flash of red. She continued looking around for at least ten minutes, but no one approached her, and everything was quiet. Was she so sleep-deprived and paranoid that she had imagined the whole thing? She stood up straight in confusion, rubbing her forehead, still wary, but her guard was down. That was a big mistake.

Something hit her hard on the back of her head and she fell forward, slamming her shoulder on the hard ground, hissing in pain. Luckily, it wasn’t dislocated, the suit taking the brunt of the force, but she was sure it would be more than sore later. Before she could even process what was attacking her, something pinned her back to the ground and pushed her face onto the sand. She was then completely tied up with what looked suspiciously like her yoyo string. Whatever it was was definitely at least as strong and fast as her. She tried to wiggle and push herself up, but her attacker promptly sat on her. She groaned loudly from the weight, accidently swallowing a fistful of sand before coughing wildly. It would’ve been a comical sight if she wasn’t so angry at getting ambushed and _sat on_. Who would even _do_ something like that? She tried struggling but the string that had her tied up was too strong. She wasn’t even able to move her hand to her hip to see if her yoyo was still there. _Great. This is how I die. Sat on by some weirdo._ Ladybug thought miserably to herself as she tried wiggling again, but it only caused her attacker to tighten the string around her body.

Ladybug finally stopped moving as a ploy to maybe get the person off her – she was sure it was a person at this point. Who else would think of using their heavy butt as a weapon? Fortunately, it somewhat worked. Her assailant roughly pulled her to her feet, and immediately spun her around. She gasped when she saw her own blue eyes staring back at her. No wonder she was outsmarted. It was a godforsaken sentimonster of herself. She was _so_ completely done with today and the day hadn’t even started yet. She didn’t know if she should’ve been offended or impressed. Offended because her butt was so heavy it could constitute as a means of immobilising someone. Impressed because based on what the sentimonster did to take her by surprise, she actually turned out to be a really good strategist – if she did say so herself.

The sentimonster gagged her with a black cloth, which was unnecessary because she wasn’t going to scream or make noise. She was just _annoyed_ at this point. She didn’t even think about threatening or asking the sentimonster what the hell she wanted from her. Instead of wasting her breath on something she knew wouldn’t be answered, she used her braincells to try and think of a way out of this predicament. Before she could try to figure out what to do though, she heard footsteps right in front of her which indicated someone else was approaching. She stilled when she saw who emerged from behind a column.

It was _Hawkmoth_ in all his purple mothy glory followed closely by Mayura. She should have guessed the situation would get worse. She sighed.

Ladybug knew she was a complete goner.


	4. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to just say I am so so sorry for the really long delay. Things are hectic for me right now and updates may be quite infrequent. Just wanna say thank you so much for your support and for reading this story. This chapter is quite short but I just wanted to give you amazing people something for the time being haha. <3

They continued staring at each other, neither saying anything. Ladybug didn’t know how much time had passed but the sky had become considerably brighter. If Hawkmoth made her miss out on anymore of her classes so she couldn’t _graduate,_ well, she made a vow to herself that she would haunt him for all eternity. She refused to let her death be in vain. Yet, she was wondering why she wasn’t dead already, or why her Miraculous still sat comfortably on her ears. It’s not like she could fight back – apart from give him dirty looks. Fake Ladybug had her tied tight. She was determined to not be the first to say anything though. She wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of hearing her voice crack with fear – because she was extremely terrified at the moment. She hadn’t even gone one second against Hawkmoth alone and she had already lost. Not for the first time, she wished she had her partner with her.

She tried to move her arms to see if there were any weaknesses in the yoyo string even though she knew nothing could break it. She just wanted some hope. As predicted, the string stayed taut. She began contemplating what it would feel like to die, but before she could continue with her morbid thoughts, Hawkmoth suddenly spoke, surprising her.

“I’m not going to kill you,” He said, as if reading her thoughts. “I’m not in the business of killing innocent children,” he continued. Ladybug only narrowed her eyes at him. The absolute _gall_ of this man…

“Oh, I guess we can all go home, sing kumbaya and invite each other for holidays then,” Ladybug retorted. Hawkmoth was not amused.

“And those akumas you sent to attack us? Are you saying they were all being _kid-friendly_?” Ladybug continued, not caring anymore what happened to her. Hawkmoth opened his mouth to say something, but Ladybug didn’t give him the chance.

“And the countless times I had to watch Chat Noir die? What were those? Good family fun? Harmless lessons in how-to-stop-breathing?”

She may have imagined it, but the moment she mentioned Chat Noir dying, she thought she saw Hawkmoth wince, a slight flash of despair apparent in his eyes. She shook her head. It was definitely her lack-of-sleep addled brain acting up again. Hawkmoth despaired over no one.

“Are you done?” Hawkmoth asked, a prominent scowl on his masked face. Ladybug didn’t dignify him with an answer. “I would have taken your Miraculous and returned everything back to normal. Contrary to what you believe, I’m not a complete monster,” he said.

Ladybug continued with her silence and glared at him. He sighed, exasperated at her stubbornness.

“Look, this isn’t…ideal for me, but I am left with no options and I’m desperate enough to resort to consorting with my enemy no less – “

Ladybug figured she’d gone crazy. Was Hawkmoth seriously…

“Hold up, hold up. I hope I’m imagining this – because it’s too crazy to be real – but are you actually asking for my help?” She asked, cutting him off. Surely the world was about to end at any moment.

Hawkmoth scowled at her.

“Yes, you ignorant child, as I said, I’m desperate.”

“In what _universe_ did you think I would _ever_ help you,” Ladybug spat at him, enough venom dripping from her voice even a snake would be proud.

“You will help me. It is in everyone’s best interest to do so. So, stop throwing a tantrum. I am in no mood to entertain your teenage rebellion,” Hawkmoth countered. Ladybug laughed humourlessly.

“Wow, I didn’t know you were such a charmer. Since you asked so nicely, I’m definitely going to trust you and help you do whatever you want. Why don’t I just hand over my Miraculous while we’re at it?” Ladybug deadpanned, tired of his insults. There was no way in hell she was going to even entertain the thought of helping him in any way. He could rot for all she cared.

Hawkmoth’s eyes flashed dangerously, and Ladybug thought they were about to get into a fight. Bring it on.

Instead, he just took a deep breath and closed his eyes, as if trying to brace himself for something horrible.

“Listen to me Ladybug. I am trying to help you as well. This concerns Adrien and I know you care about him.”

“Don’t you _dare_ say his name. I will kill you if you touch him,” Ladybug said, her voice lowering menacingly. She supposed she should have been terrified at her own words and the threat that she meant wholeheartedly, but this man was responsible for the horror she faced of seeing Chat… _Adrien_ …die countless times. She didn’t care if it was all reversed. She didn’t care if Hawkmoth knew the damage wasn’t permanent. Regardless if it was permanent or not, the damage was there. It had happened. _Adrien_ was snuffed out. She meant it when she told Chat a couple years ago that she couldn’t imagine a world where Adrien wasn’t in it. Chat dying had already haunted her enough, even though she was good at masking her distress from him. She never wanted him to worry about her. Finding out it was Adrien dying this entire time…it was almost too much to bear at times. She was surprised she hadn’t broken down from the fear of what would happen to him. She was trying her best to temper those emotions, her protectiveness over him. She had to respect him and understand that he was as capable as she was, but she still had to stop herself from getting Tikki’s help in taking away his Miraculous just to keep him safe. She knew she had no right to take Plagg away from him and she would be no better than Gabriel who resorted to _imprisonment_ just to keep his son safe. Even so, she wouldn’t hesitate for one second to come after Hawkmoth if he so much as _looked_ at Adrien funny.

Hawkmoth on the other hand, wasn’t fazed by her words. Instead, he looked somewhat pleased. She was definitely going crazy.

“I’m glad you’re very protective of him Ladybug. It shows that I can trust you.”

Whatever Ladybug expected him to say, it wasn’t that. She frowned. Maybe this was a trick. Suddenly, Hawkmoth turned to Mayura who nodded at him. Ladybug had almost forgotten she was there. She had just been silently watching their entire exchange. She felt Fake Ladybug shift and Ladybug knew she was bracing herself for something. The yoyo string tightened uncomfortably around her. What was happening? It was as if they were afraid she was going to attack them or something. She couldn’t move anyway, the yoyo string prevented that. They knew that. Then why were they so...unsure?

“Just…remember, this isn’t easy for me…” Hawkmoth said, almost reserved. Ladybug was about to scathingly retort but the words died in her throat when she saw what happened next.

“Nooroo, dark wings fall,” Hawkmoth said quietly as a flash of light engulfed his body. Ladybug was vaguely aware of a purple kwami flying tiredly beside him but that wasn’t what drew her attention. Her entire being was consumed with fury and betrayal as she saw who was standing there. It was Gabriel Agreste.

She didn’t even register that Mayura had dropped her transformation as well, revealing Nathalie. The only thought she had in her mind was getting to _Gabriel_ and causing him unimaginable pain. How could he do this to Adrien _?_ He was responsible for the countless deaths, pain and suffering of his _own son._ She struggled violently against the yoyo string, not caring how Fake Ladybug had tightened the string so much that it actually hurt to move. She supposed the only reason she wasn’t cut in half was because her suit was protecting her. Yet, she struggled, the singular thought of punching Gabriel in the face running rampant in her mind. They definitely had the good foresight of bracing themselves against her rage. Gabriel had the decency to at least look startled at her extreme reaction.

“Ladybug calm down – “

She snarled so vehemently at those words, he actually stepped back. Good.

“HOW COULD YOU?!” Ladybug screamed at him. Gabriel raised his hands, gesturing for her to keep her voice down. She could have alerted the entire neighbourhood with that scream, especially since people would be waking up around this time. She didn’t care.

“HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO HIM?” She screamed again, struggling harder than ever.

“I WAS DOING THIS FOR HIM!” Gabriel yelled right back. Ladybug was surprised people weren’t swarming the area because of the racket. However, Gabriel’s words gave her pause.

“You were doing this _for_ him?! You must not know Adrien very well if you’d think he’d _ever_ want to hurt people just to get ultimate power!”

“Ultimate power? Ultimate Power?! That’s what you think I wanted?” Gabriel exclaimed, completely incredulous. He laughed bitterly. There was a long pause where he looked at Nathalie. His expression was so sad and broken, Ladybug was almost taken aback.

“I was trying to save Emilie,” Gabriel finally said, his voice soft. Ladybug frowned and was surprised enough to stop struggling.

“E…Emilie? Adrien’s mother? But…isn’t she missing?”

“That’s what the world thinks. Her fate is worse. It would break Adrien if he found out,” Gabriel explained, still not looking at Ladybug.

“What happened to her?” Ladybug asked, dreading the answer. Gabriel just sighed.

“I promise to tell you everything. To explain myself. The reason I am doing this is because Adrien is in danger. I won’t even try to take your Miraculous anymore. This is the hardest decision I am making, choosing my son over my wife, but Emilie would have wanted me to make this decision. Adrien is the only thing in the world that would make me halt. The only thing in this world that matters anymore. And I know you care about Adrien too,” Gabriel said.

He had her there. Ladybug looked him in the eye. There was that broken look again. Even so, it didn’t mean that she would trust him just like that. She knew he needed something from her, and she needed to know why he was desperate enough to come to her for help, even going so far as revealing his identity.

“What do you want?” she finally asked, unsure of what she had just gotten herself into.


End file.
